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Founded in 1834 by a small group of Quakers protesting human slavery in the South, Westfield and Washington Township served as an important home station on the Underground Railroad. Shortly after black emancipation, residents rallied to promote racial equality and harmonious living, helping to curtail the clout of the Ku Klux Klan. Van Camp Company, once the largest local employer, provided pork and beans for thousands of troops entrenched in World...
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In the first ten years of its settlement, the town of Newbury witnessed murders, kidnappings, earthquakes and a plague of caterpillars. The century that followed--marked by religious conflict, Indian uprisings and public scandal-- proved no less challenging to the early Puritan community. In 1640, Massachusetts Governor John Winthrop noted, "As people increased, so sin abounded." But through the turmoil, Newbury's citizens harnessed the region's abundant...
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The wooden pier, tree-lined Main Street and ocean views, coupled with a prosperous and happy community, led "Forbes "magazine to name Seal Beach one of the five friendliest towns in America. Getting there, however, was a bumpy adventure. Starting in the 1860s as Anaheim Landing, the first seaport in what would become Orange County, it soon became a summer retreat for squatters and illegal saloons. Despite the efforts of real estate developers to turn...
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The intense heat of the steel mills and the clatter of coal-filled locomotives once filled the streets of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Hardworking immigrants, iron rails, and anthracite coal from beneath the surface of the lush Lackawanna River Valley powered America's Industrial Revolution, and until World War II, the city reigned as a cutting-edge boomtown. Local journalist Cheryl A. Kashuba chronicles the history of Scranton from the glory days of the...
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Schoodic Point, the nearly three and a half square miles of Acadia National Park on the mainland, seems almost timeless and unchanging. The elemental beauty of this land has remained unspoiled only through a serendipitous mixture of effort and coincidence. Schoodic Point outpost actually began with the slow, steady development and settlement of heavy logging, farming, herding and fish processing. People and industries gradually abandoned the Point,...
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The Druid Hills neighborhood is characterized by rolling hills, magnificent trees and shrubs and gorgeous, expansive houses. Its Ponce de Leon corridor bears the imprint of the founder of American landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted. The brainchild of Joel Hurt, the neighborhood was brought to fruition by some of Atlanta's most prominent businessmen, including Asa Candler, founder of Coca-Cola. It was these movers and shakers of the city...
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Named for the famous Spanish explorer who was said to have discovered the Fountain of Youth, Atlanta's Ponce de Leon Avenue began as a simple country road that conveyed visitors to the healing springs that once bubbled along it. Now, few motorists realize that the avenue, one of Atlanta's major commuter thoroughfares, was a prestigious residential street in Victorian Atlanta, home to mayors and millionaires. An economic turn in the twentieth century...
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Martha's Vineyard is cherished by many as a summer paradise, but few know of its rich past. Descendants of the first Native American inhabitants still reside on the Vineyard. Once a critical whaling hub, the island's success drew in newcomers from around the world. Following the Civil War, land developers set their sights on attracting tourists to the island's scenic beaches, and soon thereafter, a visit from President Grant established Martha's Vineyard...
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The Seminoles once roamed the land that encompasses Wilton Manors, until Henry Flagler brought his East Coast Railway through the untamed wilderness in the late nineteenth century. By 1910, the railway had transformed the area into a viable farming and shipping hamlet known as Colohatchee, until a wealthy businessman began marketing the plot of land nestled between the North and South branches of the Middle River as a beautiful bedroom suburb of Fort...
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At the dawn of the twentieth century, Martha Berry had a vision that a residential school for young men and women with limited educational opportunities would help break the cycle of poverty that pervaded the rural South. She began an educational experiment in northwest Georgia that unfolded during her lifetime and continues into the twenty-first century. This book tells the story of a part of that school--the high school that existed on the Mountain...
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Beginning with the retreat of the Wisconsin glacier and the story of early Native American peoples, Janik narrates the journey of Wisconsin's capital city from the "center of the wilderness"? to the "Laboratory of Democracy."? Learn how Madison's citizens responded to the Civil War, industrialization and two world wars, as well as how advances in the rights of workers, women, Native Americans and African Americans made Madison the multifaceted city...
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Explore Fairplay from the beginning with local historian Linda Bjorklund as she traces the town's story through Spanish settlers, early American government, Union-Confederate tensions and modern development. Even though Fairplay's remarkable gold and silver boom was reduced to ash overnight in 1873, a strong community overcame history's challenges and preserved its treasures. From the popular annual Burro Days to the Way of Life Museum, Fairplay gives...
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Enter Somerville, a city packed with stories larger than itself, to salute a heritage that justifies the fierce pride of its citizens. Share a perch on one of Somerville's celebrated hills with Dee Morris and Dora St. Martin and watch the raising of America's first flag and the stringing of its first telephone line. Strolling from neighborhood to neighborhood, this brief history knocks on the doors of everyone from the father of Fenway Park to Missy...
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Wareham, Massachusetts--the Gateway to the Cape--is a small town steeped in rich history. The Wampanoags, or "People of the First Light," first used the area of Wareham as a summer home. Later, this area became part of the colonies' first permanent settlement, Plymouth. Since its incorporation in 1739, Wareham has persevered and flourished through the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Industrial Revolution. In the nineteenth century, the...
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In 1823, the Erie Canal sparked visions of opportunity and fortune in many, including Abraham Snyder, who traversed to the land that would become his namesake. But when Abraham mysteriously disappeared in 1832, his son, Michael, became the "man of the family" and consequently became a one-man powerhouse of industry and generosity. Michael Snyder's eponymous settlement became a hamlet of Amherst in western New York that boasts a rich history dating...
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Welcome to Millionaire's Row, where the Gilded Age mansions and clubs of high society still exude a faded elegance. It was here that fiery Martha Wadsworth--avid sportswoman and social maven--and wealthy hostess Nellie Patterson mingled with the likes of famous inventor Alexander Graham Bell and miner-turned-millionaire Thomas Walsh. From the Union Station Plaza and Embassy Row to Dupont Circle and the Washington National Cathedral, author Mark N....
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In 1681, just twenty-eight humble log cabins built around a marshy green made up what is today Waterbury, Connecticut. The town flourished, and by 1850, its brass- and button-making industries welcomed the Industrial Revolution. When the call came for the Civil War and World Wars I and II, Waterbury gave generously: buttons, to adorn United States military uniforms; and young soldiers, to fight for freedom and become heroes. A Brief History of Waterbury...
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Since its earliest days as a Dutch colony, Hurley, New York, has undergone many transformations: it has been fought over by the Lenape tribe, commandeered by British settlers, and buffeted between Revolutionaries and Loyalists as a strategic stronghold in the Revolutionary War. Local historian Deana F. Decker explores this Hudson Valley town's history with a comprehensive assessment of its notable residents, such as Sojourner Truth, as well as its...
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Jamestown, Rhode Island's history has been formed--both for good and ill--by its geography. The town officially encompasses three islands in Narragansett Bay--Conanicut, Dutch and Gould--plus a number of small islets known as "dumplings." Jamestown was part of the larger world when merchants and travelers used the common roadway of the bay. As the speed of transportation on land increased, that same bay isolated the town. Reliable ferry transport...
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Memories of lost pirates' treasure, daring rescues off the coast and prowling German U-boats linger amidst the dunes and sea grass of Rehoboth Beach. From modest beginnings as a religious retreat, the town has survived fierce storms and gales to blossom into a vibrant community and the nation's summer capital. With spirit and a touch of wry humor, Delmarva journalist Michael Morgan regales his audience with tales of intrepid explorers, brave guardians...